Utility box lid

ABSTRACT

A utility box lid is provided which includes multiple storage levels. The utility box includes a plurality of inner compartments configured to receive lift out trays, which when inserted form the multiple storage levels. The utility box has a plurality of split covers, each one hinged by a separate, individual hinge, where the hinges are positioned relatively in parallel with the diameter of the bucket.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a multi-purpose utility box configured to fiton existing buckets, cans, or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many regard proper storage as key to safeguarding valuables from loss,damage, or the like, as well as finding the valuables when they areneeded or desired. In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,287, issued Oct.8, 2002, to Louie, is directed to a combination tackle box and fishcontainer lid; U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,760, issued Sep. 8, 1998, toCampbell, is directed to a fishing bucket; U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,057,issued May 26, 1998, to Dancer, is directed to a fishing accessorycontainer; U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,995, issued Aug. 26, 1997, to Hoffman, isdirected to a bucket sized fisherman's tackle box; U.S. Pat. No.5,547,098, issued Aug. 20, 1996, to Jordan, is directed to a containerwith stackable trays and adjustable partitions; U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,922,issued Feb. 7, 1995, to Jordan, is directed to a container withstackable trays; U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,892, issued Aug. 16, 1994, toZaffina, is directed to a tackle box and assembly; U.S. Pat. No.4,911,295, issued Mar. 27, 1990, to Venegoni, is directed to a bucketorganizer tray; U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,148, issued Jul. 26, 1988, to Love,is directed to a fishing accessory container; and U.S. Pat. No.3,751,845, issued Aug. 14, 1973, to Van Leeuwen, is directed to afishing bucket.

An unfulfilled need exists for a versatile utility box that may beintegrated with existing buckets, cans, and/or the like, to maximizeusable storage space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided thatcomprises a utility box which may be configured as a lid for a bucket(such as, e.g., 1 gallon, 2 gallon, 3 gallon, 4 gallon, 5 gallon, 6gallon, or any other capacity). The utility box may be divided intomultiple levels of storage (e.g., 4 levels). The main body of theutility box may include a plurality of inner compartments (such as,e.g., two equal (or unequal) size compartments), each having a separatesplit cover. A plurality of lift out trays (e.g., two) may be provided,each of which may be configured to be held by one or more tray supportribs in an associated inner compartment of the utility box. The splitcovers may each be hinged by separate, individual hinges, where thehinges may be positioned relatively in parallel with the diameter of thebucket. The split covers may include an integrally formed latch and thebase of the utility box may include an integral hang tab that isconfigured to receive the latch. At least one floor of the lower storageareas of the utility box may be removable to provide access to thebucket contents without removing the utility box.

Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the invention may beset forth or apparent from consideration of the following detaileddescription and drawings. Moreover, it is noted that both the foregoingsummary of the invention and the following detailed description areexemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limitingthe scope of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the detailed description serve to explain the principlesof the invention. No attempt is made to show structural details of theinvention in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamentalunderstanding of the invention and the various ways in which it may bepracticed.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective side view of an example of an eco-friendlyutility box mated to a bucket, according to principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective cross-section cut side view of theeco-friendly utility box mated to the bucket of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective side view of the eco-friend utility box ofFIG. 1, according to principles of the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective side view of an example of a lift out traywhich may be used with the eco-friendly utility box of FIG. 1, accordingto principles of the invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the eco-friendly utility box of FIG. 1,according to principles of the invention.

The present invention is further described in the detailed descriptionthat follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the invention and the various features andadvantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference tothe non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/orillustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the followingdescription. It should be noted that the features illustrated in thedrawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of oneembodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisanwould recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions ofwell-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as tonot unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the invention. The examplesused herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of waysin which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those ofskill in the art to practice the embodiments of the invention.Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construedas limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by theappended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that likereference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

It is common practice in the home building industry to provide buildingmaterials (such as, e.g., joint compound, paint, plaster, adhesives,stains, and the like) in buckets or cans, which frequently end up inlandfills. The buckets or cans are typically made from materialscomprising plastics, metals, or the like. The buckets and cans may havevarious capacities, typically ranging from, for example, a gallon to sixgallons. Since many of these materials degrade very slowly, the bucketsand cans are presenting significant environmental issues. For example,the buckets and cans are filling landfills with matter that may takehundreds, if not thousands of years to degrade.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective side view of an example of an eco-friendlyutility box 115 that may be mated as a lid to a bucket 110, according toprinciples of the invention. As seen, the utility box 115 may beinserted into the bucket 110 to form a unitary storage structure 100.The utility box 115 and/or the bucket 110 may comprise a material, suchas, for example, but not limited to, plastic, metal, wood, fiberglass,glass, ceramic, stone, or the like. At least one floor of the lowerstorage areas of the utility box 115 may be removable (or openable) toprovide access to the bucket contents without removing the utility box.

The utility box 115 may comprise a pair of split covers 150A, 150B. Eachof the split covers 150A, 150B may include a hinged side 130A, 130B,respectively, and a latched side 140A, 140B, respectively. The hingedsides 130A, 130B, may have a longitudinal axis (e.g., along the z-axis)which is substantially parallel to the diameter of the bucket 110 andsubstantially parallel to the plane formed by the x-axis and z-axis.Each of the split covers 150A, 150B may comprise a hinge mechanism 135(such as, e.g., a pivot hinge, butt/mortise hinge, continuous hinge,piano hinge, concealed hinge, butterfly hinge, parliament hinge, straphinge, H hinge, HL hinge, or the like) to allow for pivoting of thesplit covers 150A, 150B about the longitudinal Z-axis of the splitcovers 150A, 150B (i.e., about the longitudinal axis of the hinged sides130A, 130B). The split covers 150A, 150B may be configured to be coupledto the utility box 115 via a snap-lock fastening mechanism (not shown),which may be provided on either (or both) the hinged sides 130A, 130Band/or the latched sides 140A, 140B. The utility box 115 may furtherinclude a molded on hang tab 137, which may be configured to beremovable, and a cored thru hole 139 for aerator tube access to thebucket 110.

The bucket 110 may include, for example, but is not limited to, a fivegallon (or any practical capacity) bucket. The bucket 110 may comprise asubstantially cylindrical shape, as shown, e.g., in FIG. 1, or it maycomprise any other shape, including, for example, but not limited to, arectangular shape (e.g., rectangular buckets or cans provided withcertain food goods, such as, e.g., cheeses, or the like). The bucket 110may comprise a pivoting handle 120 for carrying the bucket 110.According to an aspect of the invention, the bucket 110 may be providedwith the utility box 115 as a unitary structure 100. Alternatively, auser may obtain a new bucket 110 or remove the contents (such as, e.g.,joint compound, plaster, paint, food goods, or the like) from anexisting bucket 110 and insert the utility box 115 into the bucket 110.The user may clean the bucket 110 before inserting the utility box 115into the bucket 110.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective cross-section cut side view of the unitarystructure 100, comprising the utility box 115 mated to the bucket 110,as shown in FIG. 1. The utility box 115 may comprise an engaging member250 (such as, e.g., but not limited to, a lip, a tongue, a groove, orthe like) along its perimeter to lockably engage a lip member 260 alongthe perimeter of the bucket 110, thereby fastening the utility box 115to the bucket 110. As seen in FIG. 2, the utility box 115 may compriseat least one lift out tray 170 (170A, 170B). The lift out trays 170A,170B may each be configured to be placed in the utility box 115, asshown, e.g., in FIG. 2, such that the lift out trays 170A, 170B createfour levels of storage in the utility box 115. For example, wheninserted into the utility box 115, the lift out trays 170A, 170B maycreate two upper levels 210, 220 of storage and two lower levels 230,240 of storage. At least one floor 340 (shown in FIG. 3) of the lowerlevels 230, 240 may be removable (or openable) to provide access to thecontents of the bucket 110 without removing the utility box 115. Thefloor 340 may be configured to open by means of, for example, but notlimited to, a hinge, a tongue-groove arrangement (e.g., for a slidingfloor portion), or the like.

It is noted that the utility box 115 is not limited to four levels ofstorage, but, instead may include any number of levels of storage (suchas, e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, or the like). In this regard, the lift out trays170A, 170B may comprise multi-level trays (not shown). For example, thelift out tray 170A (or 170B) may be inserted into a further tray that isdeeper in the y-direction (e.g., along the y-axis) than the lift outtray 170A (or 170B), but less than the depth of the utility box 115,thereby providing a three level storage. A further lift out tray may beprovided that has a smaller depth along the y-direction than the liftout tray 170A (or 170B), which may be inserted in the lift out tray 170A(or 170B) to create an additional level of storage. The lift out tray170A (or 170B) may include one or more further tray support ribs (notshown) for receiving and holding further lift out trays.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective side view of the utility box 115 of FIG. 1,according to principles of the invention. As seen in FIG. 3, the utilitybox 115 may comprise a latch 310 and a latch receiver 320, which may beconfigured to lockably receive the latch 310. The latch 310 may beintegrally formed (e.g., molded) with the split cover 150, or it may beaffixed to the split cover 150 by means of, for example, but not limitedto, an adhesive (e.g., glue, cement, epoxy, or the like), a mechanicalstructure (e.g., bolt, nut, screw, nail, rivet, or the like), or thelike. The latch receiver 320 may be integrally formed (e.g., molded)with the utility box 115 body (or base), or it may be affixed to theutility box 115 body by means of, for example, but not limited to, anadhesive (e.g., glue, cement, epoxy, or the like), a mechanical fastener(e.g., bolt, nut, screw, nail, rivet, or the like), or the like.

The utility box 115 may comprise a plurality of tray support ribs 330,as shown in, e.g., FIG. 3. The tray support ribs 330 may be provided onany one or more sides of the inner compartment of the utility box 115,so as to support the lift out tray 170A (or 170B). Further, the traysupport ribs 330 may comprise various lengths along the y-direction, aswell as various thicknesses, so as to provide support for multiple traysin a single compartment of the utility box 115. For example, the traysupport ribs 330 may comprise a first set of four tray support ribs onthe inner compartment wall proximate the hinged side 130 and a secondset of four tray support ribs on the inner compartment wall proximatethe latched side 140. Two of the tray support ribs of the first set offour tray support ribs may have a first length (such as, for example,but not limited to, four inches) and the remaining two tray support ribsof the first set of four tray support ribs may have a second length(such as, for example, but not limited to, six inches), with the secondset of tray support ribs having similar lengths. In this instance, theshorter tray support ribs may hold a first lift out tray 170A (or 170B)and the longer tray support ribs may hold a further lift out tray (notshown). The tray support ribs 330 may be integrally formed (e.g.,molded) with the utility box 115 body, or the support ribs 330 may beaffixed to the utility box 115 body by means of, for example, anadhesive (e.g., glue, cement, epoxy, or the like), a mechanical fastener(e.g., bolt, nut, screw, nail, rivet, or the like), or the like.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective side view of an example of a lift out tray170, which may be used with the utility box 115, shown in FIGS. 1-3,according to principles of the invention. The lift out tray 170 maycomprise one or more inserts 410 and a tray 420. The inserts 410 may beconfigured to engage a recessed portion in the tray 420 upon insertion.Further, the inserts may be integrally formed (e.g., molded) with thetray 420. The lift out tray 170, including the inserts 410 and tray 420,may comprise one or more materials comprising, for example, but notlimited to, plastic, metal, wood, fiberglass, glass, ceramic, stone, orthe like.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the utility box 115 of FIG. 1, according toprinciples of the invention.

Although the utility box 115 has been described with two innercompartments which are configured to receive lift out trays 170, it isnoted that the utility box 115 may comprise any number of innercompartments (such as, e.g., one, two, three, four, or more). In thisregard, the utility box 115 may comprise any number of split covers 150configured to cover the inner compartments (such as, e.g., one, two,three, four, or more).

While the invention has been described in terms of exemplaryembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the inventioncan be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of theappended claims. These examples given above are merely illustrative andare not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs,embodiments, applications or modifications of the invention.

1. A utility box that is configured to be inserted into a bucket or can,comprising: an inner compartment configured to hold a lift out tray; anda split cover configured to open and close, wherein the split covercomprises at least one of a hinge side and a latch side.
 2. The utilitybox according to claim 1, wherein the inner compartment comprises: atray support rib configured to hold the lift out tray.
 3. The utilitybox according to claim 2, wherein the tray support rib is configured ona wall of the inner compartment proximate the hinge side.
 4. The utilitybox according to claim 2, wherein the tray support rib is configured ona wall of the inner compartment proximate the latch side.
 5. The utilitybox according to claim 1, wherein the inner compartment comprises twoinner compartments, and wherein the split cover comprises two splitcovers.
 6. The utility box according to claim 1, further comprising: alift out tray configured to be held by at least one tray support rib. 7.The utility box according to claim 5, further comprising: two lift outtrays configured be held by a plurality of tray support ribs configuredin the two inner compartments.
 8. The utility box according to claim 1,wherein the utility box comprises multiple levels of storage.
 9. Theutility box according to claim 1, wherein the utility box comprises fourlevels of storage.
 10. The utility box according to claim 1, wherein afloor of the inner compartment is removable to provide access tocontents within the bucket.
 11. A unitary structure comprising a utilitybox and a bucket, comprising: an inner compartment configured to hold alift out tray; and a split cover configured to open and close, whereinthe split cover comprises at least one of a hinge side and a latch side.12. The unitary structure according to claim 11, wherein the innercompartment comprises: a tray support rib configured to hold the liftout tray.
 13. The unitary structure according to claim 12, wherein thetray support rib is configured on a wall of the inner compartmentproximate the hinge side.
 14. The unitary structure according to claim12, wherein the tray support rib is configured on a wall of the innercompartment proximate the latch side.
 15. The unitary structureaccording to claim 11, wherein the inner compartment comprises two innercompartments, and wherein the split cover comprises two split covers.16. The unitary structure according to claim 11, further comprising: alift out tray configured be held by at least one tray support rib. 17.The unitary structure according to claim 15, further comprising: twolift out trays configured be held by a plurality of tray support ribsconfigured in the two inner compartments.
 18. The unitary structureaccording to claim 11, wherein the utility box comprises multiple levelsof storage.
 19. The unitary structure according to claim 11, wherein theutility box comprises four levels of storage.
 20. A utility box having asubstantially circular perimeter, comprising: an inner compartmentconfigured to hold a lift out tray; and a split cover configured to openand close, wherein the split cover comprises at least one of a hingeside and a latch side, and wherein the split cover comprises a portionthat includes a substantially circular shape.